In this weekly feature, I-CONnect publishes a
curated reading list of developments in public law. “Developments” may include
a selection of links to news, high court decisions, new or recent scholarly
books and articles, and blog posts from around the public law blogosphere.

The
German Federal Constitutional Court ruled
that the European Court of Justice’s findings in the Weiss ruling on the legal
validity of the ECB’s decisions on the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP) “manifestly
exceed the judicial mandate conferred upon the CJEU in Art. 19(1).” The FCC
concluded that the “CJEU thus acted ultra vires, which is why, in that respect,
its Judgment has no binding force in Germany.”

The
Trump Administration asked
the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the release of the Mueller’s Grand Jury
findings to the House of Representatives.

The
US Supreme Court unanimously overturned
the convictions in the infamous “BridgeGate Scandal” case, concluding that not
all local officials’ corruptive acts are federal crimes.

Malawi’s Supreme Court in a unanimous decision rejected
President Mutharika’s appeal and upheld its previous ruling on the annulment presidential
election result.

United
States 9th Circuit Appeals Court ruled
that the US Military is allowed to construct a base in Okinawa, Japan, despite
the environmental activist’s concerns.

In the News

European Court of Justice
responds
in an unprecedented press release to the German Constitutional Court ruling,
stating that it will not comment on national courts’ judgements, but also noting
that the ECJ alone has the right to interpret EU law.

Germany passes
a law banning the “gay conversation therapy” for minors.

The US Republican
party members of the Senate contemplate the possibility for Trump to fill in another Supreme Court seat.

Poland postpones presidential elections due to COVID-19 pandemic, without setting a new
date for the poll.

EU home affairs
commissioner Ylva Johansson raises concerns
over the fact that COVID-19 crisis spiked the demand for child sex-abuse
content up to 30% in some EU member states.

Facebook names
first members of the Oversight Board, which will be able to overturn decisions
by the company and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on whether individual pieces
of content on Facebook and Instagram are allowed and in accordance with the
international freedom of expression standards.

New Scholarship

Elena A. Baylis, Regionalized Hybrid Courts, in Kirsten Ainley and Mark Kersten (eds), Hybrid Justice (2020) (discussing the development of hybrid criminal tribunals with the focus examples from Kosovo, Senegal, and South Sudan)

Rosalind
Dixon and David Landau, Constitutional
End Games: Making Presidential Term Limits Stick,
71 Hastings Law Journal (2020) (arguing that weaker bans on re-election for
consecutive terms, rather than permanent bans on any re-election, are the best
response to the end game problem of president trying to extend their term of
office)

Vlad Perju, Identity Federalism in Europe and the United States (2020) (examining the vague concept of state identity
as a political safeguard of federalism, as well as its transformation from a
constitutional discourse to an acknowledged constitutional doctrine)

Calls for Papers and Announcements

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites participants to register for the course “The Theory and Design of Constitutional Change”. This six-week course will be held live on Zoom starting on June 1, 2020.

McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and the Centre International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), in partnership with several word-class universities and institutions invites participants to the 2020 Online International Symposium on “Human Rights, the SDGs & the Law,” which will be held on May 15, 2020.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites participants to register for the course “The Future of Liberal Democracy: Global Dialogues with Leading Scholars”. The six-week course will be held live on Zoom starting on July 22, 2020.

Belgrade Legal Theory Group invites participants to the second online session of the COVID-19 emergency measures related series on topic “State of Emergency in Slovenia: The How of Emergency Decision-making,” which will be held on May 14, 2020.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites all to join a free live online seminar on “How to Write a Book in Constitutional Law–and Get it Published: Advice from Scholars around the World,” on May 15, 2020.

The deadline for applications for the IACL Round Table “Democracy 2020: Assessing Constitutional Decay, Breakdown and Renewal Worldwide” has been extended until June 1, 2020.

COVID-DEM: How is COVID-19 Impacting Democracy? On 3 April the global research platform DEM-DEC launched the COVID-DEM Infohub, which aims to help democracy analysts worldwide track, compile, and share information on how State responses to COVID-19 are impacting on democracy. It contains curated information including databases, academic research, a ‘super blog’ providing access to analysis on over 30 blogs, policy analysis podcasts, and webinars. You can submit your own work and suggestions to feature on the Infohub, reaching an audience of thousands across over 100 countries.

The American Journal of International Law (AJIL) issued a worldwide call for papers for an Agora symposium on “The International Legal Order and the Global Pandemic.” The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2020.

ICON.S Portugal invites participants to an online session on “COVID-19 and Human Rights,” which will be held on May 11, 2020.

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